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I am pretty sure people who are actually good at baking bread are fucking wizards, because I have never managed a result better than 'okay'. I've now tried this milk bread recipe three separate times and while the results have improved slightly each time (and been at least edible), none have managed that lovely soft brioche-like texture. The first version was very dense, most likely because the yeast I used was really old. Second try with new yeast was less dense, but still very.... crusty. Seeing some people in the comments succeeding with all-purpose flour instead of bread flour, I tried that for the third go, which came out notably softer but still not quite right.

On the plus side, I have a whole bunch of baked char siu bao in my freezer (and more in my stomach). Debating if I want to try again to make some red bean buns - it's a little frustrating to not get a great result, though, particularly with the time it takes.

Bread-baking friends, any suggestions for beginner-friendly bread recipes? Working from home means I have some extra time in my days and I am determined to spend it doing things, instead of reading too many news articles on the internet and being anxious.

I have bread flour, cake flour, all-purpose flour, a whole jar of active dry yeast, and a stand mixer with a dough hook. I do not have a bread machine or a fancy oven - just a basic electric one.

...as requested by somnolentblue.

First and foremost, COOKIES ARE DELICIOUS. Food-as-gift is totally acceptable to me, and I will chow down anything not full of raisins, cranberries, or white chocolate chips terrifyingly fast. Raisins and white chocolate get a try, but cranberries are totally out because no. Storebought cookies will also get devoured quickly because delicious and low-effort. My favorite commercially made cookies are Tagalongs - which I think have different names in various parts of the US? They're the vanilla cookies with peanut butter filling on top coated in chocolate, and last year I basically drove to Bellingham and shoved a twenty at the scouts and was like 'GIVE ME AS MANY BOXES AS THAT BUYS' and then they were gone in two weeks. Such is the tragedy of Girl Scout cookies. My second favorite store-bought cookies are mint Milanos, but they're on sale approximately never, so usually I just get Chips Ahoy, aka the only commercial chocolate chip cookie I actually like. And frequently on sale!

My legit favorite cookies though are my mom's chocolate chip cookies. Which she makes using the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the bag but through arcane mom magic they always manage to be the perfect balance of crispy and chewy. I've been trying to replicate this for years with only one or two true successes - mine always turn out too 'cakey' which is an eternal disappointment. I'm more likely to make no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies which are chocolate, peanut butter, oats, and far too much sugar and butter but are delicious. It's like an energy bar! In cookie form! And they look sort of ugly, but are nearly impossible to screw up.

I also used to do decorated fandom sugar cookies for friends (see icon) and somewhere have about a million photos of them pre-shipping, but I tragically do not know where said photos have ended up. I also haven't had time to do them recently because decorating little sugar-cookie people in detail is both messy and time-consuming.

...I would end this with recipes but they are downstairs and I am in bed, and should have turned out my light at least fifteen minutes ago. Tomorrow, perhaps!